


maybe i'm amazed

by iseekdaylight



Category: NCT (Band), WAYV
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-06-24 00:54:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19713004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iseekdaylight/pseuds/iseekdaylight
Summary: “Because I like you, and I think you’re cute. So, Ten, will you go out with me?”





	maybe i'm amazed

**Author's Note:**

> i’m very sure this isn’t how i imagined the fic to be, but i hope you like it!
> 
> a very special thanks to my beta reader, who has been an immense help, especially with the volleyball scene.

Sooner or later, Ten is going to murder his friends.

He’s sure it’s a crime to ditch a friend at a party that he initially had no plans of going (because he just arrived from Bangkok hours ago and would like to sleep the jet lag away, thank you very much), but he went anyway because said friends were persuasive.

Now, said friends were nowhere to be found, and a couple (which he recognized as Jongup from dance club and was that Somin from music club?) just plopped on the couch and started making out.

He needs another drink. Ten sighs and gets up, jostling through the crowd to head to the table where the drinks are. There’s no one manning the station, and he quickly pours himself vodka on a red cup and quickly makes his way out before anyone mistakes him for a bartender.

He could always leave, Ten figures. He knows his way around this neighborhood, and it’s a fifteen-minute walk away from the shared house with the school’s Thai Support Group and a few members of the Chinese Support Group. But Taeyong and Sicheng are lightweights, and it’s up to him to remain the more sober one and drag them out of the penthouse before they start making out with random people again.

Ten shoots Taeyong and Sicheng a text before heading to the back yard. There’s a larger crowd here, some of them dancing right by the DJ’s platform, while others are just standing and talking (or flirting). He spots a bench by the pool, with no one hanging around there, and it’s like an oasis with the angels singing from above.

He has to get there before anyone else claim that spot.

Ten makes long strides toward the bench, squeezing through the crowd, careful not to spill his drink. He sighs in relief when the area is clear, and he could start to see his name on that bench: an introvert’s sanctuary in the stifling crowd.

“Hey, watch out!”

He’s not sure whether that warning was meant for him, until something heavy collides with him. It didn’t even register that he was hurtling towards the pool until he hits the water.

There’s a hand pulling him up, and Ten coughs out the water in his lungs and blinks rapidly to get the chloroform out of his eyes. Said hand then moves to his back, rubbing soothing circles until Ten is okay to digest what the fuck just happened.

“Hey, I’m really sorry about that.”

When Ten’s vision refocuses, he gets a clear view of the person who probably collided with him and helped him up. He’s so tall, and annoyingly so. The ends of his black hair are sticking to his forehead, and his broad shoulders are heaving.

He’s wearing a school jacket, the school’s mascot embroidered to the right. The sign of a jock.

The guy’s expression softens. “Hey, let’s get you out of here, yeah? Get you somewhere else to dry?”

“Look at Johnny, being smooth!”

Ten glances to the side, where he sees a crowd has gathered and is gazing curiously at them. Two of them are wearing the same jock jacket as Johnny, beaming as if their friend had just won the lottery.

Johnny glares and raises his middle finger at them, causing “Ooohhs” from the crowd.

Somehow, with the way the two friends are reacting, it came to Ten that maybe this whole pool crashing thing isn’t an accident after all. His entire body tenses and his face warms up at the thought.

He just wants to get out of this party in one piece. Why is the universe testing him?

“Fuck off, jock,” he mutters, his elbow hitting Johnny’s as he wades out of the pool.

“H-Hey, I’m sorry! It’s not what you think!”

It probably isn’t. But Ten has been ditched by his friends, is fucking drenched and jostled by jocks, and is now the talk of the party, and not in a good way. He’s not in the best mood to think twice.

He’s just about to emerge from the pool when a hand grabs his wrist. He spins around to find the Johnny guy staring at him, a pout on his lips. “Let’s get you dried and changed,” he offers.

“I think I can just walk home and do that myself, thank you very much,” Ten says through gritted teeth, tugging his wrist away from Johnny’s grip.

“But you’ll get sick. Come on, I have a dryer in the laundry room. And I probably have some spare clothes in my room.”

Ten’s eyes widen. “Wait, you live here?”

Johnny bites his bottom lip, seemingly in an attempt to tone down his amusement, and shrugs. “Yeah. So, you gonna come with?”

He wants to reject the offer, but by that time, his anger had fizzled down, and he absolutely wants to get changed into something dry as soon as possible. He sighs, and his body relaxes. “Fine. Lead the way.”

Ten keep his gaze on the ground to avoid the curious stares of the partygoers as he follows Johnny upstairs. And it’s a good thing because the steps are floating, and he doesn’t want to accidentally step on thin air.

When they go up, Ten discovers there are fewer people on the second floor. He finally dares to look up and sees Johnny stopping in front of a set of double doors. Johnny fumbles for something in his jeans pocket and fishes out a key, sticking it in the doorknob. He pushes the door open then tilts his head at Ten, which he takes as a gesture to come in.

Ten’s eyes widen as he looks around the entire room that feels like it’s designed for a celebrity. Earthy green wallpapers cover the room, which houses a sofa set and a king-sized bed (which had plushies, which Ten totally did not expect from a jock), beside it a large window showing the view of the entire city.

“Go ahead and use the bathroom,” Johnny says, closing the door. “I’ll see if you can wear something while you wait for your clothes to dry. In the meantime, there’s a spare bathrobe in the cabinet by the vanity.”

The bathroom is just as luxurious, marble floor and all. Ten would have taken his time staring at everything for hours on end, if he isn’t raring to change into something dry. He finds the cabinet by the vanity and pulls out a bathrobe, shrugging off his clothes and putting it on.

The sleeves of the bathrobe are too long, and of course, he should have known, because Johnny is _huge_. But he doesn’t really have a choice for the matter, so he rolls up the sleeves as high as he can and makes his way out of the bathroom.

Johnny has already changed to a fresh set of clothes—a T-shirt and khaki shorts—when Ten steps out. “My spare clothes are, uh, huge,” he says, lamely gesturing to a pile of clothes at the edge of the bed. “If you wanna change into them while you wait for your clothes to dry, go ahead.”

“Um.” Ten feels warmth spread to his face again as he glances at the pile of clothes. It’s one thing to wear someone else’s bathrobe. It’s another thing to wear someone else’s clothes, and a complete stranger at that.

(“A complete, attractive stranger,” his brain says, but he’s quick to mentally shake his head.)

Johnny seems to have the same thoughts, and redness creeps from his neck up to his entire face. “I-It’s fine if you don’t wanna!” he exclaims, waving his hands. “I thought you’d want to hang out with your friends or something.”

That makes sense, but Ten’s friends are nowhere to be found, and he can’t text them because … “Shit, my phone,” he says, reaching for his jeans pocket. He grimaces when he finds it, switched off and unable to power up again.

“Oh god, I’m so sorry.” Johnny’s eyes are wide, and he genuinely does look sorry. “Is it busted?”

Ten sighs, not even bothering to reply. It’s not an expensive phone, but it’s a huge inconvenience (and by inconvenience, he means mostly the financial side) for him to have his phone checked and possibly replaced. He’s lucky that he could afford it, but still, his mother’s going to kill him.

“We could have it fixed,” Johnny says slowly.

“I can do it myself,” he says through gritted teeth. “You’ve done enough damage for the night.”

Johnny winces, and Ten would have felt sorry if he wasn’t thinking about how he’s going to find his friends without texting them. What if Taeyong and/or Sicheng are already wasted? Or his friends are already ready to go home and they couldn’t contact him?

The other boy sighs and takes Ten’s drenched clothes. “I’ll drop these in the dryer,” he says. “I’m guessing you’ll stay here? Do you want me to get you anything to eat?”

Ten doesn’t really want to stay in someone else’s room, but he’s also wearing a bathrobe, so he doesn’t have any choice. He might as well make the most out of having a jock succumb to his whims. “Yes, please,” he says. “Just not … anything with fruits in it.”

Johnny raises an eyebrow but doesn’t say anything other than, “I’ll be right back. Uh, make yourself at home, I guess.”

When Johnny closes the door, Ten takes a chance to get a good look of the room. He doesn’t mean to be judgmental, but when he thinks about it, the room looks too neat to be owned by a jock. Then again, Johnny is a rich kid, which means he doesn’t have to do the cleaning on his own.

He walks slowly toward the drawer that holds a few picture frames. That’s definitely Johnny, though he looks more tanned and in an emo phase with that mop of black hair. There’s another photo frame of Johnny with an older woman, which Ten assumes is his mother. Then, there’s a larger frame of a group photo, beside it a small trophy. Etched in the trophy are the name of a team and the name of some national collegiate volleyball organization.

 _Oh_. So Johnny’s a volleyball player. Maybe it’s just Ten generalizing that all jocks are either in the basketball or football team. That, and he’s just out of the loop when it comes to campus sports; he never attends them because he’s too busy with schoolwork, dance club practice, and the occasional share house activities. That’s a summary of his high school life.

He jumps when the door opens, and Johnny emerges, holding out Ten’s clothes. “All dried up,” he says with a grin. He then sets down a plastic container. “And I microwaved some leftover sandwich my mom made me.”

“Let me get changed first,” Ten grabs his clothes from Johnny and heads to the bathroom.

When he emerges from the bathroom, Johnny is sitting on the couch, the plastic container with the sandwich in it on top of the coffee table. He straightens in his seat and smiles, forcefully, in Ten’s opinion. “All good?”

“Pretty much.” Ten smooths his shirt. It’s wrinkly, but he figures no one will notice. “I’m still bummed about my phone.”

“My offer of helping you get it fixed still stands.” Johnny gulps. “I really _am_ sorry. My friends and I were goofing around, and I didn’t notice you.”

Ten sighs. He wants to be angry, but he can’t find himself to anymore. Especially when Johnny isn’t the stereotypical jerk of a jock. “I need it fixed before school starts,” he says. “Can we meet over the weekend?”

Johnny beams, and Ten could tell that it’s genuine this time. “Okay,” he says. “Is Lotte tomorrow at lunch okay for you?”

“Yeah, I could probably buy some school supplies, too.” Ten finally plops on the couch and opens the plastic container, taking a bite off the sandwich. He stares at the bitten part of the bread and blinks. “Tell your mom that I don’t know her, but I already love her.”

And Johnny smiles more widely, eyes scrunched and all.

“Let me get this straight. You’re going on a date with Johnny Suh?”

Ten rolls his eyes and flops on the couch. On the other side, Kun is reading a book while munching on chips, a few of which Ten takes. “It’s not a date,” he says firmly. “He owes me because he broke my phone.”

“Right, and you have to put on makeup for that occasion?”

The hand holding his eyebrow pencil stills, and Ten glares at his friend, who raises an eyebrow in return. “He’s a jock, and I don’t wanna look like a potato next to him.”

Kun’s eyebrow doesn’t come down, but he does return his attention to his book. “Okay, whatever you say. What time are you supposed to meet him?”

“Around twe—oh shit, I’m late!” Ten jumps up the couch, his leg hitting the coffee table. He winces and half-limps up the stairs in an attempt to get his bag.

He makes it to Lotte half an hour late, and Ten thinks he’s not supposed to panic because it’s not his fault they’re meeting to get a new phone. But Ten is also a stickler for time—he blames Taeyong for this—so he’s already swearing to himself by the time he descends the bus and heads to their designated meeting spot.

It’s not hard to find Johnny amongst the crowd. He towers over almost everyone, even if he’s just leaning against the pillar separating two stores. His hands are tucked inside his jeans pocket, and his tapping his foot, though he doesn’t look frustrated.

Ten catches his breath first before approaching Johnny. He clears his throat and speaks up. “Hey.”

Johnny looks at him, and his face brightens up. “Hey,” he greets.

Oh that definitely gave him a punch to the gut. Why does he feel like the guilty one when this whole thing is Johnny’s fault? “Didn’t notice the time,” he says. “Did you wait long?”

Johnny shakes his head. “Just got here ten minutes ago. I thought you were gonna blow up at me for being late.”

“This makes us even, then.”

He follows Johnny, who deftly makes his way through the crowd and to the escalator leading to the second floor. Ten is lucky he could keep up with Johnny’s long strides, and he thanks long hours of dance practice for that.

They reach one of the electronics stores in the mall, where they’re greeted by a friendly staff member. Johnny looks over his shoulder and signals for Ten to follow him to the tables where samples of phones are displayed. Ten’s eyes widen as he realizes where they walked in.

“Isn’t this too expensive?” Ten speaks up as they stop in front of a table of sample phones.

Johnny shrugs sheepishly. “I kind of owe you, since I broke your phone and all.”

“You do, but it’s not like I want the latest Samsung phone,” Ten snorts, although he gazes longingly at one model. He then mentally shakes his head. “And we’re not close, don’t spoil me.”

“Don’t you want to be?”

Ten looks up and blinks, wondering if he had heard what he had just heard. “Don’t flatter yourself,” he says. “You pushed me to the pool.”

“Fair enough.”

He settles for the same model of phone, despite Johnny insisting he buys something nicer. Johnny then invites him to lunch, which Ten agreed to because he can’t say no to free food.

They just sat at the food court, Johnny bringing him a lunch box set. Surprisingly, Johnny wasn’t as chatty as Ten expected him to be while they eat. He makes a few comments, and Ten replies, but they’re enveloped in silence throughout their meal.

Which isn’t uncomfortable, by the way. Somehow, Johnny doesn’t feel the need to talk to fill the silence, much to Ten’s relief. Ten isn’t really good at conversations with people he just met, especially with someone who accidentally collided with him that sent him hurtling to a pool.

The atmosphere isn’t awkward, and more on … nice. Strangely enough.

“Thanks for the phone and for the free food,” Ten says when they leave the mall. “You didn’t really have to buy me a new one, you know. I just needed to get my old one fixed.”

Johnny smiles and shakes his head. “Better to get a new one than have the old one fixed, only for it to fuck up later, right?”

“You just wanna flex your black card, rich boy.” Ten smirks and lightly elbows Johnny, despite himself.

Johnny laughs, sending his entire body shaking as if what Ten had said is the funniest thing in the world. And Ten boasts a good sense of humor, but he knows when he’s funny and when he’s not.

He’s pretty sure what he just said isn’t funny, but whatever floats Johnny’s boat, he supposes.

The first day of the school year is always about adjustments. Ten has to get used to waking up at six in the morning to get ready, eat breakfast prepared by Kun, hop on the bus, and make it to first period.

Of course, that almost didn’t happen. Ten would have overslept if not for Kun pushing him off his bed. He would have complained, but he begrudgingly had to thank his friend for preparing his breakfast to go so he could eat it during the bus ride to school.

Thanks to Kun, he manages to squeeze in his usual seat at homeroom.

The first half of the day flies by too quickly, thank god. Ten is too relieved to plop by the dance club’s usual table at the cafeteria, where he’s relieved to find familiar faces. “So,” he begins, squeezing between Taeyong and Sicheng, “how’s everyone surviving the first day?”

“Junior year sucks,” Taeyong grumbles, poking his food using his fork, just as Sicheng says, “Freshman year sucks.”

Ten chuckles. “So we’re all in agreement that school isn’t good for us.” He munches on his chips. “I suggest we all drop out and start a dance school.”

“I can’t, my mom’s gonna kill me,” Taeyong groans.

“Coward,” Ten scoffs, but he feels the same. As much as he likes coming home, he doesn’t want to spend school in Bangkok, not when everything in Seoul is home. “Are we still good for dance practice later?”

“Of course.” The oldest in the trio beams, ruffling Sicheng’s hair. “It’s our baby’s first day in the dance club. Wouldn’t want to miss that moment.”

“I’m not a baby,” Sicheng mumbles with a pout.

Ten hears the cafeteria doors open, and by reflex, he looks over his shoulder. His eyes widen when he sees a group of boys walk in, the jackets looking all too familiar. It’s easy to spot Johnny, who’s the tallest among the group. Someone probably cracked a joke, because his head tilts back in laughter, full body reaction and all.

Then Johnny stops laughing and somehow, his gaze meets Ten’s. His face brightens up, and he raises his hand to wave widely and yell, “Hey, Ten!”

It’s as if everyone’s sense of hearing focused on Johnny, and everyone turned from looking at Johnny to looking at him. Ten feels the goosebumps creeping all over his body, his face heating up, but he does his best not to react everyone starts going back to their own businesses.

“So,” Taeyong speaks up, “You know Johnny Suh.”

Ten looks up, an eyebrow raised. “I barely know him. He broke my phone during Sungjae and Sooyoung’s party, he paid for my new phone, and that’s that.”

Taeyong nods in understanding. “Okay,” he says. “It’s just weird because he’s, you know, not the people you hang out with.”

Ten knows that. Ever since freshman year, he has stuck with people in the dance club and associated with the kids at the theater and glee clubs. The jocks felt like a galaxy away from his circle of friends. “Well, we don’t hang out,” he says, probably more harshly than he intended.

Taeyong drops the subject.

As much as Ten doesn’t want to think about Johnny Suh, it seems like the entire school likes to talk about him. Or maybe everyone _has_ been talking about Johnny, and Ten had used to tune them out.

First of all, he learns that Johnny’s a junior. The part about him being a volleyball team is already common knowledge, but Ten didn’t know that their volleyball team’s _good_. As in, they’re consistent national podium contenders.

Johnny also likes Coldplay, according to one of Ten’s seatmates in biology class. He’s also in the photography club and likes taking pictures of scenery.

Apparently, a lot of people like him. Even the teachers.

So yeah, Ten kind of feels bad that he sort of snapped at Johnny at the party the other day.

He forgets about that guilt, eventually. After all, he has school and the dance club to worry about. Math is a pain in the ass, and the dance club is starting preparations for the national dance competition at the end of the year. Typical high school problems.

And then there’s that essay he has to turn in for English class. Ten had to skip today’s practice to drag his ass to the library in the hopes of finding the right sources for his paper.

The library is full of students when he enters. Ten drops his bag next to an empty bench and heads towards the row of computers to search for the books he needs. Too lazy to take down notes, he snaps a photo of the results on the screen then heads to the designated shelves.

The book he’s looking for is on the top shelf, much to his dismay. He grunts and goes on his tiptoes, stretching his arm to reach for that darned book. He wishes his English teacher is here so that he could show her he’s making an effort to finish this essay despite limitations (aka his height).

“Need help with that?”

Ten’s heels sink back to the ground as he turns around to face whoever just offered help because yes, thank god.

But that guy turns out to be Johnny Suh. He’s wearing his usual jock jacket over his T-shirt and jeans, and there’s a goofy grin on his face.

Ten’s flight response starts to kick in, but common sense wins in the end. He needs that book, and Johnny’s already there, so the least Ten could do is ask for help rather than look for the librarian and ask for a ladder. So he nods.

Johnny smiles and takes the book from the shelf, handing it to Ten. “Here you go,” he says. “Good luck with your, uh, paper?”

“Thanks.” Ten grimaces. “Mr. Kim wants a novel, so I need all the luck I can get.”

Johnny blinks. “Mr. Kim?” he repeats. “Oh, man, he’s a handful. He thinks writing in the most intellectual way is the way to go, when it’s not.”

Ten remembers that Johnny’s a year older than him and that he probably has the same teachers as he did back when he was a sophomore. This could be his chance to pick Johnny’s brain in the hopes of passing this class. “So how should I write this essay, then?” he asks.

“I could show you,” Johnny offers. “I actually just finished my calculus homework, so I can show you my previous essays and see how Mr. Kim grades it. No plagiarism, though.”

“Are you suspecting that I’ll rip off your work?” Ten says indignantly, raising an eyebrow.

“No!” Johnny exclaims too loudly, and he winces when he hears someone shushing him. He bows his head in apology to the librarian passing by and turns back to Ten, his face red. “Just making sure, you know.”

Ten drops off the book on top of Johnny’s table, which is located near the library’s huge windows. He quickly grabs his stuff from the other table then plops next to Johnny. The older one practically beams at him, for some reason.

He tries to ignore the tingling sensation spreading throughout his chest.

To be fair, Johnny is extremely helpful. His sophomore English essays are a mess with comments, and he points out some of the parts that Mr. Kim likes and what he didn’t like. He learns that Mr. Kim is pretty finicky, and he’s actually glad Johnny offered to help.

Johnny leaves him after emailing his revised essays to Ten. For some reason, he smiles when he sees that unread message in his inbox, the name “J.Suh” visible from the sender.

Or maybe because he has a better chance of passing English now.

Yeah, maybe that’s why.

For some reason, he has been seeing Johnny Suh more often since then.

They pass by each other at the hallways every morning and often share the same lunch break. Johnny is the first to greet him, voice booming throughout the hallways as he yells “Hi, Ten!” Ten would say hi, and it takes him a few days from greeting back while looking at the ground to meeting Johnny’s gaze.

They often run into each other at the library, and Ten doesn’t bat an eyelash when they share a table. And they don’t even talk that much; they greet each other, then proceed to work on their homework in silence.

Needless to say, Ten sort of looks forward to going to the library now.

“Hey, are you and Johnny dating?”

Ten almost trips on the ground at those words. He manages to grab onto Taeyong, who asked that question by the way, and glare at his friend at the same time. “What the fuck are you talking about?” he asks.

Taeyong chuckles and shrugs. “I heard people talking about it in class. Might as well know from the parties involved in the gossip.”

 _What the fuck._ Ten’s eyes narrow at his friend. “We’re _not_ ,” he says. “It just so happens that we pass by the same hallways and we share the same table at the library. But we don’t hang out.”

“Except for that one time,” Taeyong clarifies with a nod.

“He replaced my phone, which he broke, by the way.” Ten shrugs dramatically. “Can we get back to practice?”

Taeyong sighs and nods, dropping the subject.

Now that Ten thinks about it, he _could_ hear people whispering about him and Johnny at the hallways. And apparently, the rumors are widespread that even the freshmen know about it.

He has to put a stop to this.

Okay, fine, maybe he’s overreacting. It’s just a stupid rumor, anyway, and it’s not like it’s damaging his reputation at school.

But the thought of people seeing him and Johnny as … together? It bothers him, and he’s not sure if he likes it.

“Everything okay?”

Ten blinks and returns to reality. He’s standing in front of the bookshelves containing Asian mythology, and he’s supposed to look for a book, but he can’t remember its title. It doesn’t help that Johnny is standing beside him, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

He shakes his head, pulling out a book which he’s sure is the assigned reading for the week. “Just tired,” he says. “Dance practice.”

“Oh, you’re part of the dance club?” Johnny’s face brightens up. “That’s cool. I bet you’re one of the best dancers.”

“Don’t say that when you haven’t watched a single performance,” Ten mumbles, and he hates how his face warms up at those words. “And I know who watches our shows, Johnny Suh. You’re such a sweet talker.”

Johnny laughs sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. “Did it work, though?”

Ten doesn’t even answer that. It’s probably a trick question. Instead, he cuts to the chase. “Are you flirting with me because of the rumors of us dating?”

“What?” Johnny’s eyes widen, looking over his shoulder for any signs of possible eavesdroppers. “It’s not that,” he replies, his voice toned down to a whisper. “I’m sorry if it affected you.”

“It didn’t,” Ten lies, taking the first step out of the bookshelf aisle. It’s suddenly warm, and it doesn’t help that Johnny is a large human being altogether.

“Okay …” Johnny becomes silent for a split second before he clears his throat. “Well, would you like to do it? Date, I mean?”

He’s pretty sure he didn’t hear it correctly. Ten freezes in his tracks and spins around to face Johnny, whose face is as red as a tomato. “I’m sorry, what?” were the words he could have sworn came out of his mouth, and he can’t be so sure because of how loud his heart is pounding.

Johnny gulps, and his face turns into a darker shade of red. “Let me take you out on a date,” he practically sputters out. “Not because of the rumors!” he adds quickly.

“Then what?” Ten tightens his grip on the book clutched closely to his chest, which is a good idea because he thinks his heart might jump out of his chest any minute.

The older one doesn’t say anything right away. He straightens his posture and takes a deep breath.

Maybe Ten’s expecting one answer, and one answer only. But he still wasn’t prepared for the words that slip out of Johnny’s lips.

“Because I like you, and I think you’re cute. So, Ten, will you go out with me?”

“Don’t be so nervous, Ten.”

“I’m not nervous,” Ten retorts as he fiddles with his phone, pacing back and forth the share house lounge. “I just don’t know what to expect, that’s all.”

He catches Kun and Sicheng, who are both at the couch, give each other weathering looks. “Didn’t he say you’re going to Samcheong?”

Ten nods. “But he didn’t tell me what we’re going to do,” he admits. He wrinkles his nose. “What if I hate it?”

“There’s nothing to hate about Samcheong,” Sicheng points out. “I _am_ kind of impressed your jock boyfriend decided to take you there instead of the usual jock boy dates.”

“How do you know about jock boy dates, Sicheng?” Kun asks with an eyebrow raised. “Did you go on one? And with who? I want information!”

Sicheng bats his eyelashes, grabs a handful of chips from Kun’s stash, and heads up his room.

Kun snorts and rolls his eyes before turning back his attention to Ten. He stands up and approaches his friend, fixing his collar. “You look great,” Kun reassures him. “And if the date ends up being boring, just speed dial me and I’ll bail you.”

“See, this is why I love you.” His phone beeps, and he sees Johnny’s name in the notifications. “Okay, that’s my cue. I’ll text you when I get there?”

Kun nods and pats Ten on the cheek. “Good luck and have fun.”

There’s a silver Honda parked outside the share house. The window is scrolled down, revealing Johnny. There’s a fond smile on his face, which brightens when Ten approaches. “You look great,” he says.

Ten smiles at that, genuinely hoping that Johnny really thinks he looks great, and not because he’s obligated to since they’re on a date. Johnny doesn’t look so bad himself, so he replies with, “Thanks. You, too.” He steps in and puts on the seatbelt. “So what are we gonna do in Samcheong, anyway?”

“I wanna go to this nice restaurant. You’ll love their food, I promise.” Johnny starts the engine. “Then I thought we could walk around then end the day in this café. Is that okay?”

It’s a safe date. Not that Ten minds. He’d rather start dates like these, where he’ll feel comfortable. “Yeah, sounds good.”

Johnny lets Ten choose a playlist, and they spend the entire ride listening to everything Ten has danced to and will dance to. He could tell that Johnny likes these songs with the way he’s bopping his head and tapping the fingers of his free hand on his knees.

(The guy steers the wheel with one hand, and that’s really hot, what the fuck.)

Ten has never been to Samcheong before, and he’s in awe at the sight of traditional-looking buildings in the area. He feels like he’s gone back in time, at least until he sees the familiar streets and cars passing by.

He tells Johnny this much, who smiles as he steers the car to the parking lot. “It does, doesn’t it?” he says. “That’s why I like coming here.”

“Brought lots of your dates here?” Ten couldn’t help but ask, though he asks it good-naturedly.

Johnny shrugs. “Well, some of them, yeah,” he admits. His cheeks then turn pink. “Is that a bad thing for you?”

“Not really.” Ten shakes his head. “Thanks for being honest, though.”

Johnny parks the car at a parking lot across one of the traditional-looking buildings, and he’s a gentleman as he opens the car door for Ten. It takes a split-second for Ten to realize what was happening, and he manages to smile in thanks before his gaze falls on the ground to hide how warm his face is at the moment.

The wind bells chime as Johnny opens the door for them, and they were greeted by staff servicing the customers. An elderly woman ushers them in a table, an old painting hanging on the wall next to them, a beautiful woman wearing a hanbok and playing the gayageum.

The elderly woman hands them a couple of menus before heading off to another table. “So what’s their best-seller here?” he asks as his eyes scan the choices.

“Chicken stew,” Johnny replies, barely opening his menu. “I actually have an order in mind already, but if you want to pick something else, go ahead.”

Ten hums and sees if anything catches his eye. In the end, he gives up and closes his menu. “I’m good,” he says. “I’ll have whatever you have in mind.”

They’re left to themselves after Johnny orders, Ten whipping out his phone to text Kun that he’s arrived in Samcheong in one piece. Kun leaves him a thumbs-up emoji and a reminder to put away his phone so he can enjoy his date. Ten snorts at that, but he complies, as always, because Kun is right.

When he stows his phone in his pocket, Johnny is gazing at him, chin tucked on his hands. He’s batting his eyelashes, and Ten’s chest is overwhelmed by this fuzzy feeling. “Stop acting so cute,” he mumbles, biting his bottom lip to hide his smile.

“I will, when _you_ stop acting cute,” Johnny coos. He giggles, eyes scrunching, and honestly, Ten couldn’t contain his smile.

“Honestly, Johnny Suh.” Ten shakes his head, hands firm on the edges of the table. “Look, can we stop calling each other cute and just … I don’t know, get to know each other better? That’s what this date is for, right?”

“Well, yeah.” Johnny leans against his seat. “Wanna play 20 Questions?”

An old trick to get to know each other, but an effective one, anyway. Ten shares his love for dance, and Johnny recalls childhood memories in Chicago. Ten talks about the antics he and his sister had, and Johnny shares how much he wanted a sibling so he compensates by tutoring middle schoolers in his neighborhood.

“What do you tutor?” Ten asks, interested.

“English, a bit of math.”

“Oh wow.” Ten blinks, sipping his iced tea. “No offense, but you just shattered my stereotypes of jocks.”

Johnny chuckles. “You really thought all jocks do is play sports, go to parties, and hook up with random people?”

“I mean, I’ve never interacted with jocks, and the only ones I know are just like the ones you described,” Ten replies with a shrug. He narrows his eyes. “I bet you don’t know a lot about people in the dance club.”

“You guessed wrong,” Johnny singsongs, waving a finger. “Taeyong and I actually worked together for a project, so I know a bit about the dance club.”

“Wait, what?” Ten didn’t expect that, but maybe he should have. After all, Johnny and Taeyong are in the same year, so it’s expected that they would share at least one class. “Taeyong never told me he hung out with someone cute.”

“I could say the same thing. Looks like Taeyong likes keeping things from us.”

Their food finally arrives, and they spend the next few minutes eating in comfortable silence. Johnny is right when he said the food is good, and they end up ordering a set of kimbap for sharing when they felt their first set of orders wasn’t enough.

They ditch the 20 Questions and just ask and answer about everything they could think of. They realize they have more mutual friends beyond Taeyong. Johnny coos over the photos of Ten’s dogs, and Ten makes a mental note to check Johnny’s collection of plushies in a non-high school party setting.

Johnny insists on paying for everything, even though Ten points out that this is the twenty-first century so they should split the bill.

“You can pay for our orders at the café,” Johnny says, slipping a few bills on the tray the elderly woman handed them.

Ten sighs and raises his hands in surrender. “Fine.”

The sun is high up when they step out of the restaurant. Johnny steps to the side of the sidewalk nearest to the roads and motions for Ten to walk beside him.

Ten may or may not be enamored at that gesture.

They just walk and go inside a store that catches their interest. They go to this souvenir shop and buy keychains that they probably won’t be using, try on dorky hats and make fun of each other and take pictures of each other.

Ten insists they go to an arcade, and he becomes very competitive when Johnny challenges him to Dance Dance Revolution. (He wins, of course.) Johnny then acts like a five-year-old when he plays with the claw machine, jumping up and down when he manages to get a cat plushie.

He hands it to Ten. “It looks like you,” he points out.

“I am _not_ a cat!” Ten huffs indignantly, but he pulls the plushie close to his chest anyway.

Finally, they end their day at the café. Ten pays for the drinks and sweets, and they spend the next two hours just lounging around, feet bumping against each other from under the table.

He didn’t want the day to end, but soon, Johnny is parked in front of the share house, grip tight on the steering wheel. “I had fun today,” he says.

“Me too.” Ten had to admit that, at least. He doesn’t want to take off the seatbelt just yet, but having the car park longer than what’s required might raise eyebrows from neighbors. “We should … do this again sometime.”

Johnny smiles so brightly that Ten could have sworn it’s brighter than the sun at noon. He wishes he was quick to pull out his phone and take a picture, because the photo of them together posted on each other’s Instagram accounts doesn’t seem to be enough.

Still, he’s relieved that there’s a promise of next time, and that’s enough, for now. He smiles back and nods. “Yeah, we should.”

By the time he’s back inside the share house, he plops on his bed, hugs his pillow, and lets out an undignified scream. His heart too full as he recollects the day’s events.

It all works well from there, Ten guesses.

The day is never complete without them talking to each other. Sometimes they would run into each other in the hallways, and they’d chat for a bit until the bell rings or until their friends would forcefully drag them away. They exchange messages, replies only delayed whenever they’re immersed in class.

Johnny came up with this routine in which they’d have lunch together, which started when he slid next to Ten on the table he shares with his friends in the dance club. Ten doesn’t miss the way people stared, but Johnny’s infectious laughter is too compelling that he stops paying attention to what people think altogether.

He also gets to know Johnny’s friends: Jaehyun and Yuta, also in the volleyball team. Compared to their antics at the party, the two are actually nicer than Ten had expected. Jaehyun is a sweetheart, melting at the sight of puppies and kittens on Instagram, and Yuta has a sharp tongue that has him and Ten bantering throughout lunch break.

And then there are times when it’s just him and Johnny, over lunch break at the campus field, studying together at the library, or Johnny driving Ten home, occasionally being distracted by suggestions to get ice cream or street food. Ten commits everything to memory, of Johnny’s gorgeous honey-colored eyes to the way his eyes turn into crescents when he does his breathy giggle.

In short, Ten’s attraction is escalating into something more.

“Like a crush?” Kun snorts. “Ten, please, you’re practically in love.”

Ten screeches as he almost drags his eyebrow pencil down, almost creating this cartoonish trail of tears on his face. “Kun!” He spins around to glare at his friend. “I almost ruined my makeup!”

“Sorry.” Kun waves his hand, hardly looking apologetic. “But I stand by what I said.”

He mumbles incoherently as he finishes his makeup. He has to look perfect, especially since the dance club is competing at the sectionals tonight. He’s with Taeyong and Sicheng at the front and center, and he has to look perfect.

“Is Johnny watching you tonight?”

Ten sighs, screwing the eyebrow pencil back to its cap. “Yeah, and I’m freaking out.”

It’s not that he didn’t want to invite Johnny to watch the competition. Ten invites everyone, including his teachers, to watch the dance team compete and perform. Even Kun has been to almost every competition he’s in, and it feels great to hear cheers from his friends during and after a performance.

And he thought he would feel the same when he invited Johnny. Only now, he’s more self-conscious of his movements and his looks, more so than his previous competitions.

“You don’t have to impress him,” Kun tells him, a hand on his shoulder. “Just do what you do.”

Kun’s right, as always. A cute boy never distracted Ten from performing his 120%. He’s on the stage because he loves it, and he’s going to do what he loves doing the most without anyone’s validation.

(Okay, maybe except the judges because prize money, pride, and the ticket to Nationals are at stake here.)

There’s already a decent crowd at the auditorium by the time the dance team arrives. No one in the team engages in casual talk, instead mechanically going through their routine as they wait for their names to be called.

Ten manages to take a peek of his phone before they were called backstage. There’s a bunch of notifications, all saying good luck.

The latest one is from Johnny, the usual good luck, and it fortunately doesn’t frazzle Ten’s nerves.

It’s easy to spot Johnny from the audience. After all, he’s the only person towering above everyone else in the auditorium, and his eyes immediately shrink to crescents when Ten meets his gaze.

He feels an elbow on his arm, and he glares at Sicheng, who’s smirking at him. “What?” he snaps.

“Stop getting distracted.”

“I’m not,” Ten hisses before shutting up as their president shushes them. “Focus, Sicheng!”

In the next ten minutes, Ten momentarily forgets about Johnny and the other people in the room. All that mattered was the stage, the music, and his movement in sync with his teammates.

Ten doesn’t even realize that their program had ended until the thunderous applause becomes louder and louder in his ears. He blinks and returns to reality only when Taeyong slings an arm around his shoulders. He’s breathing heavily, but he feels the edge of his lips tug up to a smile.

They did it.

They’re going home with the title and a ticket to Nationals, and Ten is on a high the whole night.

The competition is over, yet they stayed backstage basically screaming and jumping around with joy. Someone brings in beer, and they had to be kicked out, so they spent the rest of the night by the parking lot, being rowdy kids.

Kun joins them ten minutes later, and he gives Ten a hug. “You were amazing out there,” he says when he pulls away.

“Thanks.” Ten beams. “I do what I do, right?”

“Of course,” Kun chuckles. He looks over his shoulder and turns back to Ten with a glint in his eye. “Johnny’s on his way here.”

“Already here.” Sure enough, when Kun turns around, Ten sees Johnny heading towards them, a grin on his face, and a bouquet on one arm. “Congratulations,” he says, handing the bouquet to Ten. “You were amazing out there.”

Ten tries to ignore the hoots, cheers, and wolf whistles from behind him, as well as the warmth spreading to his face, when he accepts the bouquet. “T-Thanks,” he says.

“Well, we’re going ahead,” Taeyong announces. When Ten looks over his shoulder, his teammates are already dispersing, heading to their respective cars. “Get home safe, Ten.”

“I’m coming with Sicheng,” Kun says, patting Ten on the shoulder before Ten could say anything. “Take care of him, Johnny.”

“Hey, I live with you guys!” Ten scoffs, watching as his best friend throws his arms around Taeyong and Sicheng as they head to Jongin’s car. He turns to look at Johnny, who’s biting his bottom lip as if trying to hide his amusement. “Well, I guess I have no choice but ask you for a ride home.”

Johnny shakes his head. “Don’t be silly. I’ll be glad to take you home.”

Ten doesn’t make it home as soon as he wanted to. His stomach growls mid-way, and Johnny suggests they stop by this 24-hour diner nearby for late dinner. Johnny pays for a set of huge burgers and milkshakes that Ten normally wouldn’t eat when he’s training, but they just won a competition, so he indulges himself.

One hour of conversation turned into two, and then three. Ten can’t remember what he talked about, but he knows he hadn’t laughed that much since … ever. He ignores the butterflies in his stomach when Johnny reaches over across the table to wipe the stray ketchup on the edge of his lips, but he can’t ignore the way Johnny practically shines when he smiles at his reaction.

Okay, so maybe he’s kind of in love.

He texts Kun this much during the comfortable silence of the drive home and, of course, his friend replies with “Told you so.”

It’s not like they have _something_ going on between them.

Sure, they go into these dates where they hang out at lunch and at the library, and impromptu hang-outs. Johnny charms him off his feet, and Ten tries to keep up, but there’s no hand-holding or anything, no talks about labels and whatnot.

Then again, it’s only been almost two months since he and Johnny met. He’s enjoying the time he spends with the older one, and he genuinely thinks Johnny enjoys his time spent with Ten, too. And it’s not like he’s in a hurry, especially since there are so many things about Johnny he’s still learning.

That, and Johnny’s becoming increasingly busy with practice. Their time spent in the library and outside school has been reduced for longer practice time, since apparently volleyball season is starting. Gotta win the championship, and all that.

Speaking of which, Ten realizes that he hasn’t watched Johnny play yet. Johnny had watched him during the finals, so it only seemed fair that Ten returns the favor.

Which is why he ventures into uncharted territory: the campus gym.

The last time he had been in the campus gym was his first week of freshman year, when he was forced to do these exercises that felt intense at first, but then dance club shaped him into becoming more resilient with heavy-duty workouts. When Ten got into the dance club, he was excused from P.E., thank god, and he hasn’t been to the campus gym ever since.

This gym, in particular, is new to him. He didn’t even know that the campus gym had three buildings: one for regular P.E. class and school assemblies he never attends, one for the basketball team, and another for the volleyball team.

The squeaking of rubber shoes against the floor greets Ten as he enters the gym. The entire area is humid and smells of sweat, kind of like the atmosphere in the campus studio, only magnified three times. No one at the court pays attention to him, coach and players too focused on their drills.

Ten heads to the benches and takes a seat at the farthest area. He scans through the players before him and doesn’t have a hard time spotting Johnny. His legs are too long, making long strides to make his way to the incoming ball on their side of the court.

He doesn’t know a shit about volleyball (even if some people from the dance club watch _Haikyuu!!_ during breaks), but with the way some of the players cheered when Johnny slammed the ball to the opposing side of the court is probably proof that he’s really good.

The coach (Ten’s assuming she’s the coach) blows her whistle and tells everyone they did a good job. The players thank the coach for the day then proceed to go to the benches to dry off, drink from their water bottles, and head to the locker room.

He watches Johnny throw his head back as he finishes his Gatorade. Jaehyun and Yuta approach him, the former one turning his head to gesture to Ten’s direction. A smirk crosses his face as he waves.

Then, Johnny meets his gaze. His face brightens up, and his eyes disappear into crescents, his lips tugging as far as they could so that he’s smiling so widely. “Ten!” he hollers, voice echoing throughout the court.

Everyone’s gaze is suddenly on him, and Ten feels the warmth creeping from his neck to his face. “You didn’t have to yell so loudly,” he points out.

Johnny giggles, and Ten’s annoyance disappears. “I’ll just get changed,” he says, in a lower volume, but still loud nonetheless. “Can you wait for me?”

“Why’d you think I’m here in the first place?” Ten asks with a chuckle.

Johnny giggles again before waving and following his teammates back in the locker room.

It doesn’t take long for Johnny to get changed, though his hair is still wet by the time he emerges from the locker room. He bids Jaehyun and Yuta goodbye before taking long strides towards where Ten is sitting. “Hi,” he says, breathless.

Ten chuckles and shakes his head. “You didn’t even bother drying your hair?” he points out, feeling brave to stand a platform higher than Johnny to brush the wet strands off his face. Which was a bad idea, because Johnny leaned to his touch, like a puppy.

“I was excited to see you.” Johnny pouts, and god, Ten wants to melt. “I didn’t expect you to drop by practice.”

“You watched my dance, so I’m returning the favor.” Ten withdraws his hand quickly, making a tsk sound as he wipes his palm on his jeans. “Wanna get something to eat?”

They end up at the mall, walking aimlessly until they settle for the food court. They sit in one of the booths, the silence between them comfortable as they watch random YouTube videos while eating. Ten’s heart gets caught in his throat every time Johnny does that breathy giggle, and Johnny’s too clueless to notice Ten’s internal crisis.

“Are you doing anything on Friday?” Johnny asks as he closes the YouTube video of a compilation of some viral dances.

Ten checks the calendar on his phone and finds Friday completely empty. “Nothing. Why?”

“Well.” Johnny scratches the back of his head, then the side of his nose. “There’s a game on Friday. Sectionals. It would really mean to me if you can watch.”

As mentioned, Ten doesn’t know a thing about volleyball. But Johnny’s pouting and staring with him with puppy-dog eyes, and he feels his insides melting.

Besides, Johnny watched him compete. Might as well return the favor, right?

“Okay, sure.”

He thinks his decision is worth it, with the way Johnny looks like he’s over the moon.

Ten was made aware at the start of the school year that the school’s volleyball team is a big deal, but it’s when he actually steps inside the gym that Friday that he realizes that they’re Big Time.

He, Kun, Taeyong, and Sicheng have arrived fifteen minutes before the start of the game, but the gym is already packed with people. It’s too noisy, with chatter and drums beating and cheerleaders hyping the crowd. It’s not the atmosphere he’s used to, but it’s nothing he’s worried about.

“I wish dance competitions are this packed all the time,” Taeyong says wistfully as they squeeze amongst the crowd to make their way to a row with, thank god, four empty seats.

“We could only wish,” Sicheng sighs. “Ten, how are you holding up?”

Ten blinks. “I’m fine?” he says, puzzled. “Why’d you ask?”

Sicheng smirks and shrugs. “Thought you’d be nervous for your boyfriend, that’s all.”

“Johnny’s not my boyfriend,” Ten says, raising an eyebrow. “And why should I be nervous for him? He should be nervous for himself.”

Sicheng is about to say something else until Kun lightly elbows him, a sign that he should drop that subject. There and then, Ten mentally declares Kun as his only friend ever.

The cheers grow louder as the two opposing teams enter the court, each side of the court trying to out-cheer the other. Ten spots Johnny striding towards their side of the court, a towel draped around his shoulders. His brows are furrowed in concentration as he huddles with the team, their coach barking strategies that Ten doesn’t hear.

When the team disperses, Johnny looks up, scanning the crowd. He locks eyes with Ten, and the frown disappears, replaced by a wide grin. He raises a hand and waves as hard as he could.

Ten ignores the stares coming his way as he waves back, managing a smile. “Good luck,” he mouths, hoping that Johnny understands.

Johnny’s grin widens, and he shoots Ten a thumbs-up before heading to the court for their warm-up.

When the game officially starts, Ten picks up on the rules of the game quickly. (It helps that he actually watched that volleyball anime with his clubmates during their break.) He doesn’t expect to be invested in it, but he does become more invested than usual when Johnny is shoved to the spotlight, blocking the ball and assisting his teammates every chance he gets.

Johnny’s amazing, and he doesn’t care if he’s biased.

He’s at the edge of his seat by the time the first set of the game is over. There’s a two-point difference between his school’s team and the opposing team. The students in front of them are making this analysis about which player needs to step up for their team to win, and his ears perk up when he hears something about Johnny.

“Suh’s performing consistently during the first set. If he keeps this up, we’re gonna pulverize the other team.”

“He’s more determined, isn’t he? I wonder what pep talk the coach got him into.”

Ten rolls his eyes when he hears Taeyong and Sicheng clear their throats pointedly.

The coach gives the team another pep talk before the main players return to the court. Unlike the first set, the opposing team is more gung-ho, forcing their school’s team to make mistakes. Ten clasps his hands as he focuses on Johnny, hoping that the older one keeps up his good performance throughout the game.

Actually, scratch that. He hopes the entire team does well.

He cheers a little louder as the game third set begins after the opposing school wins the second set. Their team starts playing like they did during the first set, or maybe even better. Ten can’t really tell. Blood rushes through his ears as he jumps up when Johnny spikes the ball to the unguarded part of the opposing court.

They’re one point ahead now.

“Johnny Suh, you rock!” he bellows, loud enough for the entire gym to hear. He’d usually be conscious of everyone staring at him for it, but at this point, the crowd is too immersed in the game, so they just follow his lead.

His gaze does meets Johnny’s, and he’s beaming like an idiot. Ten merely beams back.

The game becomes more intense after that, each team scoring more before the other rallies to tie the game. At this point, the opposing team has just won the fourth set, tying the game at two sets each. He could sense the tense atmosphere, the audience raring for someone to win already. Ten feels the same, too, only he hopes that their school wins.

The game is forced to extend to a fifth deciding set. Instead of a race to 25 points like in the previous sets, the first team to score 15 points wins. After a few exciting rallies between two teams and switching courts when their school reached the eight-point mark first, they finally reach the most crucial part of the game—at least according to the students sitting in front of them. The score reads 14-13 in favor of their school.

“You okay?” Kun asks, wrapping his arm around Ten’s as a form of comfort. It helps, sort of.

Ten nods meekly. “I officially declare that sports are not good for the heart.”

“Here, here,” Taeyong replies, already leaning against his seat while the rest of the crowd, Ten included, are on their feet.

Ten could probably hear a pin drop as the audience watches Yuta serve the ball to the opposite side of the court. What follows is a ruthless rally where each player hits the ball, only for the opposing player to block it or dig it up.

He takes in a breath at what feels like a minutes’-long rally when Johnny runs past Jaehyun to spike the ball, causing it to land on an unguarded side.

Their side of the crowd cheers as the score becomes in favor of their school.

What they hear next, though, is a sharp cry of pain.

Ten’s blood runs cold when he looks for the source of that voice and finds Johnny sprawled to the floor, face contorted with pain as he clutches his ankle.

The cheers soon simmer into murmurs as everyone watches the coach and the rest of the team huddle around Johnny. Jaehyun and Yuta hold out their hands, and they hoist Johnny into a standing position, helping him limp his way to the bench. There’s a silent round of applause when Johnny plops on the team bench as a medic comes forward to tend to his injury.

He doesn’t miss the way Johnny’s shoulders sag as the game resumes. Ten’s chest squeezes, and he wants nothing more but to head there and comfort the older one.

At least their school won. The entire gym is jubilant, their side jumping up and down with others rushing to congratulate the team.

Ten saw it as a chance to head to Johnny, but by the time he makes it down, Johnny has disappeared.

At least Johnny managed to text him his hospital room hours later, which Ten spent practically pacing back and forth his room, uncharacteristically biting his nails.

Kun had commented that he had never seen Ten run so fast out of the share house.

He knows some people buy flowers for people in hospitals and all that shit, but Ten doesn’t really care. He runs as fast as he can in the hospital and gets lost and eventually asks help from a passing nurse.

He’s panting when he arrives at Johnny’s room. It’s all worth it, though, when he shares a gaze with the older one, the latter practically beaming and moving forward, wincing only when he pulls his injured leg wrapped around a cast.

“You’re alive,” he greets, closing the door behind him.

“Yeah, but every time I move my leg, I wanna die.” Johnny grimaces, shifting so he’s sitting properly on the bed.

Ten takes a seat near the bed and glances at the fresh set of flowers on the vase. “How long are you gonna wear that?” he asks, pointing to the cast.

“A couple of months, probably. Luckily, it isn’t anything serious. Just had a bad fall, is all.”

“You almost gave me a heart attack.” Ten sighs.

He doesn’t get why Johnny’s jaw slightly drops open, eyes widening. “You were worried about me?”

“What? I was!” Ten’s cheeks flush red. “And so was the entire school! You’re not special, Johnny Suh.”

“Okay, okay.” The older one chuckles, reaching out his hand. “Thanks for, um, worrying about me.”

Ten wants to say that it’s no big deal, but the warmth of Johnny’s hand on his is overwhelming. Beside himself, he squeezes Johnny’s hand, hoping that’s enough of a reply.

Johnny gets discharged from the hospital three days later and is back at school on Monday in crutches. He gets a small party at the cafeteria to celebrate their win from last week, although Johnny looks bummed that he wouldn’t get to play for two months.

Because of this, Johnny has more free time. Whenever his teammates are out practicing, he hangs out at the dance studio, watching Ten. They do their usual study sessions at the library, and Ten walks more slowly so that Johnny can catch up to the bus station.

Not that he’s complaining, because he enjoys the company.

The third week of October rolls by, and the school is getting into the Halloween spirit. The student council has hung the usual cheesy decor at the hallways: spider webs, spiders, ghost cut-outs, the usual. His phone beeps with emails of invites to the school Halloween party, which are also advertised on billboards all over campus.

“What are you going as for Halloween?”

They’re at the cafeteria, just the two of them. For some reasons, their friends decide to have lunch together and leave them alone. Which Ten doesn’t mind, really. (He’s coming to terms with his Feelings.)

Ten hums, reaching for a handful of fries from Johnny’s tray. “Last year, I went as Edward Scissorhands,” he says. “I’m thinking of going low-key this year. Maybe Mona Lisa?”

Johnny throws his head back in laughter, almost spilling his soda. “Mona Lisa?” he repeats. “That’s … something.”

“Are you judging my costume decisions?” Ten asks, an eyebrow raised.

“Maybe?” He giggles when Ten snorts and swats him on the arm. “Come on! Mona Lisa’s not exactly a popular costume choice!”

“Well, I like _not_ going with the flow.” Ten huffs. “Anyway, are _you_ even going with that leg of yours?”

Johnny pouts. “Maybe not,” he says. “Doctor’s orders. I was sorta looking forward to this year’s party, too.”

“Why, are you gonna go big with your costume?” Now that he thinks about it, Johnny would be the type to like Halloween. Or holidays, for that matter.

Johnny’s gaze falls to his empty tray of fries. “Not really, but I was planning to ask you to go to the party with me.”

Silence. Ten feels the room grow warm and his heartbeat quicken. Did he just hear it correctly? Was Johnny asking him to be his date to the party? “Like, a date?” he clarifies.

The older one smiles shyly, and Ten wants to melt. “Well, yeah,” he replies. “I don’t think we’ve gone on a date since practice got intense.”

Oh yeah. They’ve been hanging out, sure, but not as “dates.” Or whatever. “Well …” he says, an idea forming in his mind. “We could throw a party at your house.”

“What?” Johnny blinks.

It’s a good idea, in Ten’s opinion, but his palms sweat as he thinks of how he should tell Johnny. His mind immediately tells him YOLO, so he takes a deep breath and elaborates. “You. Me. Your house. Halloween party.”

Johnny blinks again. “You’re not going to the school party?”

“If my date isn’t going, then why should I?”

Johnny is so cute when his eyes widen and his mouth opens slightly in surprise. “Uh, don’t you want to hang out with your friends?”

“Oh for god’s sake, Johnny Suh, if you don’t want a home date, you can just say so!”

“O-Of course, I do!” The older one quickly reaches for his hand. “A home date on Halloween sounds great. Really great.”

Ten, of course, is just teasing, and he’s about to say as much. But with Johnny beaming brightly and holding his hand, he forgets what he’s about to say. Heck, he’s pretty sure he was close to forgetting his name.

Also, he’s pretty sure he wouldn’t mind, if he gets to see that smile all the time.

Johnny had to ask his mom first if they could throw a two-man party at his house, and she was quick to agree. It was nothing elaborate: just the two of them pigging on pizza and soda while watching a horror movie. Johnny suggests playing a video game when they get bored, and Ten, even though he isn’t into video games, agrees despite himself.

Still, Ten wants to make the party a memorable one. It’s boring if it’s Halloween and they’re not wearing any costumes. An idea comes to mind, and this is going to be one of the most embarrassing moments of his life, but he thinks it’ll be worth it.

“You know what you are?” Kun tells him before he sets off to Johnny’s house. “Whipped.”

Ten merely glares at his best friend before heading out the door.

It feels strange to be at Johnny’s house in the late afternoon, given that the last time he had been here was at a party. He has a little more time to take a good look at the place and marvel at how huge and luxurious it looks.

Mrs. Suh is the one who opens the door, and the way she smiles reminds him of her son. “He’s already at the living room,” she says, clutching her bag. “Now, I’m gonna go meet some friends. Don’t crash the house too much, alright?”

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Suh. I’ll take care of Johnny.” He grins when Mrs. Suh laughs as she goes on her way.

Johnny was already sprawled on the couch, browsing through Netflix. There’s already a box of pizza, some chips, and bottles of soda on the coffee table, all Mrs. Suh’s doing, no doubt.

The older one looks over his shoulder and grins. “Hey, you made it!” he says.

“Your mom let me in,” Ten says, dropping his bag to sit on the adjacent couch. “So, are we really not gonna wear costumes to a Halloween party?”

“Tell that to this.” Johnny winces as he lifts his injured leg slightly. The cast is already full of scribbles. “Actually, this could be a bare minimum Halloween costume.”

Ten rolls his eyes. “Where’s the bathroom?” he asks as he stands up, grabbing his knapsack.

“Um, turn right. It’s at the end of the hallway.”

“Thanks!” And Ten makes a run for it before Johnny could even ask why.

It takes him less than five minutes to get changed, but an additional five minutes to emerge from the bathroom. His palms are sweating as he slowly pads his way back to the living room, imagining all the scenarios that could happen. Johnny might think he’s weird, but on the other side of the spectrum—

“Hey, finally! I thought I’d have to pick you up from the bathroom.”

Ten gulps, finally reaching the end of the hallway and back to the living room. “Well, I had to put on a costume, and unfortunately _you’re_ kind of a spoilsport.”

Johnny, focused on whatever’s at the screen, turns to look at him. His eyes widen, and his jaw drops, and Ten prepares for the worst.

“You’re wearing … a cat onesie.”

“No shit, Sherlock.” Ten rolls his eyes, but he crosses his arms and plops on the couch next to Johnny. “Well, since it’s a Halloween party, I thought I’d commit to the whole costume thing. Even if you aren’t.”

“Oh.” Johnny sits up straighter, and he bites his bottom lip in attempt to contain his grin, which is failing, terribly. “That’s really sweet of you, Ten.”

Ten is half-expecting Johnny to thank him, but as much as he did, the smile still caught him off-guard. His heart stops for a millisecond, and he licks his lips, rubbing his sweaty palms on the fabric of his cat onesie. “Well … that’s me, I guess,” he splutters, his usual wit suddenly gone.

“Hey, I swear I really appreciate it.” Johnny’s expression softens, and he reaches for Ten’s hands, squeezing them gently. “You suggesting this party and trying to cheer me up by wearing that cute onesie? It means a lot to me.”

The date isn’t even supposed to start this way, Johnny being mushy and Ten’s heart being close to bursting. But this moment is confirmation enough that he really, _really_ likes Johnny Suh, and maybe, just maybe, he could lean forward and …

“Um …” Johnny speaks up, because Ten might have been staring at his lips too obviously. The older one is red in the face, but just as Ten is about to apologize, he continues, “This is gonna sound weird, but can I kiss you?”

“Oh my god, yes!” And Ten leans forward before Johnny could even do so.

Kissing Johnny isn’t like anything he ever imagined (and he imagined it so much than he would like to admit). It’s not fireworks or the whole foot-popping sensation, but it feels nice, intoxicating. Johnny’s lips are plush against his, and their noses bump to find a better angle, but Ten doesn’t mind because it’s Johnny.

He doesn’t know who pulls away first, but when he opens his eyes, he’s staring into Johnny’s wide ones. Ten could stare at those honey-brown orbs all day, had he not been made aware that they should probably address the kiss. “So …” he begins, biting his bottom lip.

“So …” Johnny says simultaneously, beaming, scrunched eyes and all. Ten wants to melt. “Are we …?”

“Boyfriends …?” Ten finishes for him. He hopes that’s the word Johnny is planning to say.

A giggle comes out of Johnny’s mouth, and it’s just, honest to god, too cute. “Yeah,” he says, barely out of breath. “Boyfriends.”

Ten breathes out a sigh of relief and leans forward for another kiss.

“So, you and Johnny.”

Ten gazes up from his phone to Taeyong and Sicheng, who are staring at him as if he’d grown horns. As much as he wants to keep them guessing, he feels a blush creeping to his cheeks and a grin spreading to his face. There’s no use hiding it.

Besides, he’s about to tell them anyway.

“Yup,” he says, sipping from his water bottle.

“Finally.” Taeyong grins. “It was so frustrating watching you two act like a couple when you actually aren’t.”

Ten rolls his eyes despite the grin on his face.

“Well, we’re happy for you,” Sicheng says, patting Ten on the shoulder. “Just don’t be disgusting in our presence.”

“No promises.” His phone beeps, and he can’t resist beaming when he sees the name on the notifications. “Well, that’s my cue.” He stands up and stretches, his muscles feeling sore from hours of dancing. “See you guys tomorrow?”

“Have fun with your date.”

Johnny is leaning against the lockers near the school entrance when he arrives. He’s still in a cast, but he’s using a cane now instead of crutches. Ten is about to tease him for being an old man, but Johnny looks at him and beams so brightly that the words get caught at the tip of his tongue.

“Hey,” Johnny greets.

“Hey,” Ten greets back, though it comes off as breathless.

His boyfriend— _boyfriend_!—merely grins and holds out his hand. “Let’s go?”

Ten reaches for Johnny’s hand, tangling their fingers together, feeling his heartbeat race. It still feels new, but he isn’t nervous about it because it’s Johnny, and he’s looking forward to what’s going to happen from now on.

He tiptoes to press a gentle kiss on Johnny’s lips, grinning at the flush of pink on the older one’s cheeks. “Let’s go,” he replies.

They walk out of the school, swaying their intertwined hands.


End file.
